Draft budget sets stage for county spending debate

Wednesday

Oct 10, 2012 at 5:00 PM

By Dennis PelhamDaily Telegram Staff Writer

ADRIAN — After two years of reductions, Lenawee County government is to have more money in next year’s budget. Debate among commissioners over how to divide an additional $1 million is to begin in November.

The starting point for discussions was set in an administrator’s draft budget distributed in committee Tuesday. In it, administrator Marty Marshall proposes a $450,000 increase in the building and site fund and rejects proposals from Sheriff Jack Welsh for nearly a $900,000 increase in law enforcement and jail funding.

Commissioners made no immediate comments Tuesday after receiving the draft budget. Marshall suggested they go over the draft and department funding requests for discussion at next month’s ways and means committee meeting.

Commissioner Ralph Tillotson, R-Adrian Twp., advised commissioners to be prepared for additional meetings in November to hash out details of a spending plan in time to pass a budget in December. The next budget year begins Jan. 1.

Budget tension began last month after Welsh turned in spending requests that exceeded target figures set by the commission. Welsh has argued the department is understaffed due to cutbacks in recent years at the sheriff’s department and other police agencies serving the county.

Welsh proposed nearly a $500,000 increase in law enforcement funding and $400,000 in jail funding to a total of $8.5 million of the county’s $26.3 million budget.

Marshall’s draft budget calls for a $230,000 increase in spending on law enforcement and the jail.

The biggest shift is to building and site. That budget would go from $150,000 this year to $600,000 each of the next two years.

Marshall also proposes restoring $100,000 in funding for the Lenawee Economic Development Corp. next year. There was no county funding for the agency this year.

The Lenawee County Health Department is to suffer a $15,000 decrease to its allocation, proposed at $475,000.

The Lenawee County Library would receive an increase after several years of cuts. The draft budget proposes a $20,000 boost to a $360,000 county allocation next year.